Yeo gives tired, slumping Wild day off

After back-to-back losses in Vancouver and Calgary, and a five game winless streak, Wild head coach Mike Yeo decided to give players a day off Wednesday. Injuries have forced Yeo to play the likes of Dany Heatley, Matt Cullen and Kyle Brodziak more minutes. The extra ice time is wearing on the players, but Yeo hopes the rest will help put the Wild back in the win column.

After back-to-back losses in Vancouver and Calgary, and a five game winless streak, Wild head coach Mike Yeo decided to give players a day off Wednesday. Injuries have forced Yeo to play the likes of Dany Heatley, Matt Cullen and Kyle Brodziak more minutes. The extra ice time is wearing on the players, but Yeo hopes the rest will help put the Wild back in the win column.

Head coach Mike Yeo says Dany Heatley was probably the Wild's MVP this season. He hinted that Heatley would have finished with more than 24 goals if Mikko Koivu didn't miss 27 games. Even without his top linemate out of action, Yeo says Heatley "never once complained."

Josh Harding stopped all four of the Flames' shootout attempts and Devin Setoguchi scored the shootout winner as the Wild beat Calgary, 3-2 Thursday night. Dany Heatley and Darrell Powe also scored for Minnesota. Mikko Koivu played for the first time in over a month. He finished with five shots in 22 minutes.

Injuries and the NHL's second worst scoring offense has taken the Minnesota Wild from the top of the league standings to nearly out of the playoff picture. The Wild's postseason chances seem to be falling faster than Minnesota's suddenly sub-zero temperatures.

If the Wild doesn't score first, they probably won't win. Minnesota lost five of its last seven games in which they didn't score the first goal. Forward Dany Heatley says "it's natural" for a young team to struggle to score goals, but every player needs to remember the Wild has "come back in a lot of games this year."

Nobody wants Mikko Koivu to return to the Wild's lineup more than Devin Setoguchi. Setoguchi has just five points in 12 games since returning from a lower body injury. Koivu's return could boost his production on the top line next to Dany Heatley.

Shortly after the Wild's embarrassing loss to the Vancouver Canucks Thursday, coach Mike Yeo did not mince words when talking about his team's performance. He said many guys on the team aren't playing with urgency.

Fan voting for the NHL All-Star Game ended Wednesday and the vote didn't go well for the Minnesota Wild. Not a single player finished in the top 20 for forwards, defensemen or goalies. Fans choose the first six players voted in, and four of the six play for Ottawa -- the host city for the January 29 game.